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Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil-‘Alameen. Was-salatu was-salamu ‘ala ashrafil-anbiya’i wal-mursalin. Muhammadur-Rasulullahi sallallahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi salam. Tasliman kathiran kathiran. And after that, brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala commanded us to make dua to Him. And He promised to fulfill our dua. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, “Ud’uuni astajibu lakum.” Allah said, ask Me, I will give you.
In Arabic grammar, “Ud’uuni” is a command. It’s an amr.
So when Allah is saying, “ask Me,” this is a command of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. And that is the reason why Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said in one of these, “Ad-Dua Mukhul-Ibadah.” He said, dua is the essence; it is the brain of ibadah, of worship. In one of the hadiths, Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said,
He said, and that is the reason why it is haram to make dua to anyone other than Allah.
To go anywhere else,
including to the blessed grave of Rasool sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And if you make dua to Him instead of making dua to Allah,
then this is haram. Because dua is ibadah. Just as sajdah is haram to anyone other than Allah, asking anyone other than Allah is also haram. So we must be clear about that. Now the question is, how do we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala? What is the way to make dua?
It is very important to understand that when we make dua, the most important thing first of all is to start from who are you asking?
You are making dua to whom? Get this clear in your mind. Get your heart filled with the glory and majesty of Allah. For example, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, “Qul A’uuzu bir-Rabbin-Nas.” I seek protection from the Rabbunnas, from the Lord of all humans.
Malikinnas,
from the King, the Malik, of all humans.
And the Deity, the object of worship of all humans. Now, “all humans” doesn’t mean whoever is on the earth today. It means from the first person to the last person. Including everybody. All the Anbiya, all the prophets, all the messengers, all the kings, everyone.
Irrespective of whether they believed in Islam or not. Because Allah is the Rabb. Allah is the Malik. Allah is the Ilah. Your accepting or not accepting does not change the position of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. So we ask Allah in these terms. Great glory, majesty. So first and foremost thing in dua is to be aware and bring this awareness into our hearts. And say, I am asking Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. I am asking the one whose powers have no boundaries. Whose treasures have no boundaries. Time is His creature. He is not affected by time.
I am asking the one who for me, mountains are mountains, oceans are oceans.
But for Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, this earth, which contains all the mountains, all the oceans, is less than a grain of sand on a beach.
And that is not just a statement of faith. That is a statement of fact.
Astronomically speaking, if you look at the Milky Way galaxy,
it has billions of suns.
Many of them or most of them have solar systems.
And in that is our sun, which is not even the biggest of them.
And we have a solar system in which the earth is a planet. So, if you look at all of this together, the significance of the earth is less than one grain of sand on a beach.
And that one grain of sand contains all the mountains, all the oceans, all of everything.
So, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is not just the Rabb of the earth. He is not just Rabbul-Ard.
He is the Rabb of everything in creation, including the earth. The very fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala chose the human race to receive His word, to receive His kalam, and He sent His Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to this human race, itself is a matter of great wonder and great astonishment.
Nobody can answer that question. If somebody says, why did Allah choose us? You don’t know.
Simple answer: We don’t know.
Out of all the creations, nobody can say that the only
creation with intelligence is human beings. No. There may be millions, who knows, in all the galaxies, in all the entire universe.
Who can say that the only intelligent creatures are humans? No, they are not. Even in the earth, Allah has given us two. Two, jinn and human beings. But jinn are also intelligent creatures.
And we don’t know how many such things are there. Despite that, Alhamdulillah, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala gave us this. So, before you make dua, have this in your mind and heart.
And then ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to give, remembering this.
What happens with us is, we get so overwhelmed with what is happening in our life, which is understandable. I mean, you know, if I have a pain, and if I am suffering, if I have some financial problem, or if I have some problem in my family, or whatever, right? So, for me, the best example is, if a little speck of something, a dust, gets into your eye,
then, if you are driving a car, you stop. If you don’t stop, you will crash.
Whatever you are doing, everything will cancel out until that speck comes out.
But actually, it’s only a speck.
It’s not a rock. Right? It’s one little bit of God knows what, you know, some dust or whatnot. But that one thing completely occupies your attention. This is what happens with us when we have any problem, whether it’s a health problem, or financial problem, or family problem, or political problem, or anything. That one thing completely occupies our entire existence.
And everything else gets cancelled out. So, first of all, we have to get ourselves out of this. A speck is a speck. This one problem, it’s a problem. Nobody is saying it’s not a problem. But, it’s not the sum total of your life. So, don’t sacrifice your whole life, and all your happiness, and all, you know, contentment, and all the good that is happening to you, because there is a problem. That is the biggest mistake.
Put it in perspective. It’s one problem. Okay. Alhamdulillah, we’ll deal with it.
And then, ask Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la. Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la told us the Dua of a
in Surah Al-Mariyya.
Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la told us about the Dua of Zakariya Alayhi Salaam.
And Allah explained this whole Dua in detail. Including how he asked. Allah said, “Nida’an Khafiyya.” He asked in a small voice. He didn’t shout, “Ya Allah, Ya Allah.” No.
In a soft voice. Because he knows Allah, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, Alimun Bizaatil-Suzana. Allah knows what is in my heart. I don’t even have to speak it. If I just think it, if I, it’s, it’s in my heart, Allah knows. Even before it comes into my heart, Allah knows what’s going into my heart. So, I don’t have to yell and scream. Very softly. Aadab.
And then, the way he asked,
he puts his problem before Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
He said, “Ya Allah, I am old. My hair has gone white. My bones have become brittle.”
My wife is beyond the age of childbearing. So, she is, you know, post-menopause.
But, O Allah, give me an heir. Give me a warith. Hmm? Give me somebody to carry on the work of Nubuwat after me. So, give me a son, make him a Nabi.
And he is saying, this is my problem. This is what I have.
Now, he, think about this. He is not saying, “Ya Allah, give me another wife.”
So, I can have a, so I can have a child. Give me a younger wife. No, he is not saying all this.
How you give, you know.
This is a big mistake people make. You try to micromanage. “Ya Allah, do this, do that, do that. Make this thing happen, make that.” Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala does not need you to teach Him what to do. Naudhu billah.
You have a lauzai Rahmatullah Ali. He says that one day he was makin
Tawaf and he heard a Bedouin who was making dua. So, this Bedouin said, “Ya Rabb,” I have this need, I have this problem, and you know its solution. I have this problem, and you know the solution. He said, “I have this ailment, and you know the cure.” So, Ya Rabb, I hand over my problem to you. You solve it. That’s it. I have a problem, whatever it was his need; he may be needing money or something else. So, I have this problem, and you know its solution. I have this problem, and you have the solution. So, I hand over my problem to you. You solve it. He is making this dua.
So, Alauddin ar-Rahmatullah Ali said, “I watched him. He finished his dua. He got up. He is going home.” As he was coming out of the Haram, a man came and stopped him. The man said, “I came to tell you that your uncle died, and he left all his wealth to you.” So, Alauddin ar-Rahmatullah Ali said, “Don’t tell Allah how to solve your problem. Allah knows.” You think of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala in His glory and majesty, and say, “Allah, what is me? Me, one human being, I have got this little problem. I have got whatever it is, you know. What is it? The Creator of the heavens and the earth. Ya Rabb, solve it. How to solve it? I am not going to tell. Why? Allah does not need you to tell Him how to solve it. He knows how to solve it.”
So, ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala with this complete *yakeen*. Total *yakeen*. Yes, it can be done. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is the One who brought out from a rock, from the mountainside, a pregnant camel. Yes, upon whom be peace, the people demanded. They said, “Show us this miracle. A pregnant camel must come out of the mountain.” Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala made it happen. And then, He put a condition. He said, “If you touch this thing, if you try to harm it, it will destroy you. And then, if they try to harm it, Allah destroyed them.” But it happened. Allah is the One who parted the sea for Musa alayhi salam and his people. Now, just think; these things must sit and reflect on now. Parted means what? Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, “They walked on dry land.” So, even the land was not wet. The bottom of the ocean was not wet. Parted means walls of water, huge walls of water standing on two sides. Seas parted, dry land. And there were 12 tribes of Bani Israel. Allah made 12 ways.
And this is where Pharaoh, even when he saw that, did not see the glory of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. He thought, “I can also cross.” Anyone with any intelligence, any brain, will say, whatever Musa said, whatever Musa alayhi salam said, “I believed, I didn’t believe that. This thing happening here is not novel.” So, stay out of this. They are going. Let them go. He would have said, “Anyone with any intelligence will say this. This thing which is happening right now, mountains of water standing, is not normal. Something is happening here. Don’t go near it.” No. Because his own arrogance, his own *nafs*, his own arrogance is so much that it completely blinds him. And he and his army went inside, and of course, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is the One who made it start. He will make it fall.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is the One. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is the One who did all of this. And that’s the reason why we should also walk around in this world with our eyes open and see what Allah created and how He created. From the smallest to the largest. The glory and magnificence of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is visible in every single thing. That’s why Allah gave us examples in the Quran. Allah gave us the example of the ant. He gave us the example of the bee. Small things. Mosquito. Small things. But each of those small things is the absolute marvel of creation. And that is the Rabb whom we worship. That is the Rabb whom we ask. And that is the Rabb whom one day, Insha Allah, we will meet and we ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala to make that meeting the best meeting of our lives ever. We ask Allah to make the last of our days the best of our days and the meeting with Him Jalla Jalaluhu the best day of our lives and that meeting to be the best meeting of our lives. We ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala to call us in a state when He is pleased with us and to be pleased with us and never to be displeased. Wa sallallahu ala nabiyyil kareem wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajmain bi rahmatika ar-Rahman ar-Rahim